MIAMI – The Miami Dolphins announced 10 South Florida high school students as the 2019 scholarship recipients for the Nat Moore Scholarship & Grant Endowment Program and the FOOTBALL UNITES™ Project Change Scholarship on Tuesday, June 4. Miami Dolphins Vice-Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer Tom Garfinkel, Dolphins players Kenyan Drake, Raekwon McMillan and Vincent Taylor, as well as Dolphins alumni Nat Moore and Twan Russell, joined in surprising students as they were awarded financial support for their future career endeavors.
"We are pleased to select a group of great young men and women and give them the opportunity to be leaders of tomorrow," Miami Dolphins Senior Vice President of Special Project & Alumni Relations said. "This endowment and vocational program as well as the FOOTBALL UNITES™ Project Change Scholarship will give these aspiring students the chance to gain greater knowledge to one day make a big difference in South Florida and the rest of the world."
2019 Project Change Scholarship Recipient
- Ethan Coello of Pembroke Pines Charter High School will attend Tallahassee Community College with plans to transfer to Florida State University and study security and protective services to become a police officer.
2019 Nat Moore Vocational Grant Recipients
- Oscar Marin of Western High School will attend McFatter Technical College to study accounting.
- Javier Garcia of McFatter Technical High School will attend McFatter Technical College to become a dental technician.
2019 Nat Moore Endowment Fund Scholarship Recipients
- Niya Banks of Deerfield Beach High School will attend Clark Atlanta University to study political science.
- Shanette Bain of Miami Northwestern High School will attend Florida State University to study business.
- Malachi Dunn of Hallandale Beach High School will attend the University of North Florida to study political science.
- Franceska Edouard of Coral Springs High School will attend Florida State University to study biomedical science.
- Mark Fontana of Cooper City High School will attend St. Thomas University to study education.
- DaMauri Little of Coral Reef High School will attend Bethune-Cookman University to study business.
- Dominic Pierre of Pembroke Pines Charter High School will attend the University of Central Florida to study accounting.
Photo gallery: 2019 scholarship recipients.
The Nat Moore Scholarship and Vocational Endowment selected nine recipients in its initiative to provide the youth of South Florida with the financial resources needed to pursue avenues of education and training for employment readiness. Both the scholarship and the grant are expressly designed to bolster efforts to bridge a gap between receiving financial assistance and obtaining a degree or vocational diploma.
In addition, the second annual FOOTBALL UNITES™ Project Change Scholarship identifies one high school student each year and pays for their college tuition over a four-year period. The goal of the college scholarship is to provide financial support to students who have made a commitment to leading social progress initiatives in their communities.
These efforts and initiatives align with the organization's goal to level the playing field through the power of teamwork to inspire a healthier, more educated and united South Florida community. Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross and Dolphins players created the FOOTBALL UNITES™ program as a way to bring positive social change. Dolphins organization believes it is important to be inclusive of the diversity and aware of the intersections that make up South Florida, uniting groups of different races, genders, sexual orientations, identities, abilities and faiths around the power of football. These programs connect to the NFL's Inspire Change platform, showcasing the collaborative efforts of players, owners and the league to create positive change in communities across the country and work with RISE – the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality – to eliminate racial discrimination, champion social justice and improve race relations.
Information on the FOOTBALL UNITES™ program can be found **here**. To learn more about RISE, visit **here**. Fans can join the conversation with the NFL's Inspire Change program by clicking **here**.
